Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

A public state insolvency fund is a matter of course in European countries so it is not unusual and this proposal is not being plucked from the sky. We have solidarity funds such as the Social Insurance Fund where people contribute through PRSI for the good of all even though that they may not get sick. All sorts of reliefs have been brought in for the very wealthy in this country. There was the special assignee relief programme where €28.1 million was forgone in taxes in respect of only 1,000 top executives. The key employee engagement programme was brought in in 2017, which has cost €10 million in tax incentives for top executives. The Government is, therefore, able to bring in certain measures and to bail out the banks. It can bring in guillotined legislation to seal the records of mother and baby homes. When it comes to workers, creative and exceptional measures have to be put in place to deal with them. We should also bring in longer-term practices and amendments to company law and so forth. These workers have to be looked after.

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